A Woman's Dishonor
by Lionmate
Summary: Following many months after the end of the War, a more experienced Firelord Zuko searches for the whereabouts of his long lost mother. In his desperation, he turns to family to unveil the secrets that elude him, but what he finds is something far more complicated that he has neglected to address for a very long time. Will there be closure to a royal family fractured by hatred?


Hello once more respected readers. I have for you another story, this one delving a bit more into Azula.

This here story comes to being mostly out my own curiosity to attempt a Zuko/Azula pairing. Yes, you heard right, I've pulled the plug on this one.

The idea was more born as I was making my previous story with Jun and Jin, which yes I am announcing here is still under work after my computer crash.

The good news is that I've gotten inspired as of late and I've decided to have connections between these three stories. That's right, all three will be loosely connected in a way that makes sense AND at least two other ones I'm working on right now (oOOooO exciting isn't)

I won't say much but suffice to say that these will, along with the upcoming ones, shall I say, see a "conclusion" of sorts.

Anywho, THIS one here will also be a two-shot and might include R-material if people want it (You guys know what I mean, incest anyone?)

So come and enjoy as you may, but you've been warned.

Disclaimer: Once more I must rephrase I do not own most of the character in this story, this was purely created for my and your enjoyment, free of charge. The rights of the characters belong to Nickelodeon and the writers and makers of Avatar.

Flashbacks and thoughts in _Italics,_ with thoughts in ''

Now, on to the story!

* * *

-A Woman's Dishonor: Act 1-

The Firenation, a volcanic metropolis of suppression. Even within their own walls, children, the next generation of a what would have become the biggest empire in the entire world, were repressed from their own freedom. All mindless instruments, doing what their officials dictated them to, without question, and without a struggle. Following orders with fear in their hearts, doing what they had been bred to do since the very moment they drew consciousness.

For these were the people who would have taken over the world. Once a great nation which did much for others. Leading pioneers of technological advancement. The keepers of compassion among hopelessness turned into arrogant tyrants.

They had lost their path, strayed off from their righteous cause, turned their backs on the suffering of others, all for the ambitions of one man. Well, several men, as the decades drifted into history.

Yes, these were the people whom would have taken over the world, had it not been for a group of young adolescents. Who's odyssey to inspire the rest of the earth and stand up to stop the oppression of a gargantuan nation gone rogue, brought that hidden, unseen hope in the hearts of all else.

Awakening their will to fight back against their captors, with the freedom which had captivated their dreamless sorrow.

Firelord Zuko, then exiled Prince Zuko, had had the chance to become part of that revolution, but not without stumbling along the way, nor without very grave cost. He had many regrets in his young life, but he had ultimately managed to overcome them with the help of his uncle, and of course, the avatar.

But it hadn't been easy; to let go of his past, and of his family. As Firelord, the young Zuko had now the weight of not only his people on his shoulders, and he had a lot of work to do, but of the rest of the world as well. Still, as the months passed, he had managed to make some good efforts at least, to slowly vacate the battered militia, grand armies and naval armadas of the Firenation reserves from the territories they beheld in the lands other than theirs. He had weeded out some mutinous few within the leadership who would plot behind his back as best as he could. And he had, more importantly, sent a clear message of a promised change and peace.

Perhaps even more important than even that, though, he had a whole generation of people to inspire anew. To bring back the honor and old principles of his once great nation to them again. But then, that wouldn't be easy, and he had hoped that Aang would help him with this the most. The young Airbender had a way with the youngest after all.

The Firenation still had a long way to go, however, but this volcanic super civilization of suppression would one day, he believed, become a better land where everyone would be welcomed with open arms.

He would see to that.

Well, he was certainly hoping they were headed in that direction, but he still had a whole snake pit to deal with.

"You! you, how could you have ever been my father!" The new Firelord roughly gripped his father's tattered robes by the neckline as he pushed him up against the cell wall roughly.

The older self-proclaimed king of the world matched his growing scowl with one of his own "You and me both, _son._ "

Zuko gritted his teeth and held onto his neckline even more tightly and shoved him further up with impressive strength, his eyes danced with the power of a manifested rage at that statement "For so many long years, I've respected you. But you" His fingers delved right into the hem and tore right through "You've never cared. You've never cared about me, it was all a lie"

The old Firelord leered at his son for another second before he spewed another spiteful reply "You ungrateful, foolish _child_. A lie you say? I've brought you into this world, raised you, put a crown over your spoiled little head and gave you a second chance at redemption. And you have the _nerve_ to not only disobey me, me! Your Firelord! But ally yourself with the very scum that we've been trying to find for decades, only to destroy everything we've worked to build!"

He spits at his feet "You've turned our great nation into a sap of mocking weaklings. _Pathetic_. I should have taken your life when I had the chance"

"Shut up!" Zuko twisted his feet across the wall and shuffled him to the stone corner of the cell harshly with all his might, this time tearing his entire collar right off "You would have done it anyway if mother hadn't stopped you"

The new Firelord then dropped him and his father fell like a sack of freshly picked potatoes right back onto the floor. But he wasn't here for a sparring match with his dethroned, desolate father; he had more important things to delve into, and he intended to get answers.

"I didn't come here to fight with you over the past. You _will_ tell me where she is"

As Ozai slowly settled himself more comfortably on the hard floor, he composed himself and chuckled for but a second "Do you still think I have been lying to you? Your mother I'm sure, if she still draws breath, would be far better lost than to come back now. Do you think she would be proud of what you've done to our great empire _son_? Will you be harboring peasants for dinner at the palace royal dining room as well?"

Zuko's patience was wearing thin by now. This had been the fifth time he had come down here to such an old dungeon and speak with the wretched would be Phoenix King, who once called himself his father, to find information about the whereabouts of his exiled mother. True enough, though, he had provided him with the locations he had said his mother could have been, and yet Zuko had found nothing. Needless to say, he felt like he was just feeding him false information to waste his time. And as much as he had tried to dialogue with him, it had only proved unfruitful, with Ozai mostly finding the time to throw a snide jab or two at him of the things he had done to _disgrace_ the Sozin family line.

It was getting really tiresome, because this only served to fuel his fury toward him more, and the hostility between them had only grown every time.

Zuko picked him up again and held his gullet with is forearm "It would be a far better people to have than what it had lingering in for the past few years. Now tell me what you know"

Ozai choked on his own voice "You already know everything that I know, _son._ If your mother was foolish enough to flee from those secure places, then you better hope no rogue earth kingdom _filth_ had his way with her already"

There was no concern, and even less love as he stated this, and Zuko felt his gut wrench and twist into raging knots. It was nauseating hearing this come out of his sick mouth.

Zuko cried in frustration as he once more let go of him, breathing fire out of his mouth towards the ceiling, how could he even insinuate such repugnant things about his mother, _his_ former spouse! " How could you say something like that? Uncle was right, you and I couldn't be more different! You're a monster, a husk!"

This particular comment drew Ozai's peculiar notice as he slid down unceremoniously against the wall once more, and began to laugh uncontrollably, staring up with wide open eyes right at his eldest spawn. It was maniacal, disturbing to see his father draw attention to himself like that on the decrepit dungeon.

The entire cell block vibrated with his frenzied resonating sounds of malnourished mirth. Some of the guards that were posted at the entrance door looked at each other and wondered what had been going on.

Eventually, his father seized his implosion and caught his own breath for a minute, since his lungs had been deprived of it.

"Have you finally gone crazy old man?" Zuko shouted after a minute.

"No Zuko, not yet" He looked back "I just couldn't help but amuse myself in this wretched place for once"

"At what exactly _father,_ that mother is somewhere out there alone thanks to your blind selfishness" His father was really starting to push his buttons now, he might have been the Firelord once, but Zuko knew now, as Firelord himself, that he didn't need to live under his shadow anymore. And he would make things right for everyone.

"Not that you naive boy" He answered antagonistically, "You said I was a husk, and you're right. I am not the same man I was so many months ago" He pulled his palms up and stared at them lamentably as he spits the next words with venom in his tongue "Thanks to your damnable friend the avatar, I am nothing but an empty vessel now. I can barely even feel the strength in my body to simply just walk"

He made the motion to get up but only succeed in falling on his rear. And for a very brief moment, Zuko felt pity for him. It was hard enough to know his own father never truly cared enough about him from the moment he was born. But to see the man, whom he had once loved and respected so, whatever his intentions were then, in such a state made the creeping dent in his heart, which sprouted every time he came down here, grow even more.

"You know that you did this to yourself" he chided as he squatted down in front of him.

Ozai froze for another moment and slowly glared right back "No, _you_ did this to me Zuko…when you _betrayed_ me"

The second the last words left his bitter mouth, Zuko felt the dent split and a hole bore right through him.

His face suddenly turned pale as he stared in horror at his father.

Zuko was going to tell him that he was leaving since Ozai was clearly not cooperating anymore. He knew how this would have ended up. His father would have gone into a loud soliloquy about his plans to conquer the earth kingdom. Zuko would sometimes hear him as he left his cell, talking to himself about how great the world would have been when he had the chance to _purge_ and then _purify_ the land with his godly, masterful firebending powers. How he would erect houses, buildings, statues, great cities even entire nations under his one world band. All while gracefully and mercifully ruling as emperor of everyone.

It was maddening indeed, but he mused that being debilitated, alone and imprisoned for so long by now was taking its toll on him. Which was just another good reason why he had to extract the information of his mother's whereabouts faster. It wasn't that he was just desperate to know where she was, but he had no idea when his father would just lose his mind completely and take with it that important piece of information.

What he had said, though, struck a delicate cord. A very painful cord.

"I did what I had to do to stop you, father. Which is no less than what you did to me and uncle" He looked down as he got up, suddenly feeling like he needed some fresh air.

And then the last Firelord lips curled about his growing stubble into a sinister, knowing grin.

"Then maybe, my _son._ You and I aren't so different after all"

The breath left his lungs for just a second "I am nothing like you!"

His father said nothing back but chuckled again while watching him mysteriously from the darkened corner in the black cell. A devilish smirk never leaving his malevolent features.

Zuko quickly got up and made his way out of the cell room. Realizing that his father had successfully ripped the peace straight out from within him. This had always gotten so much worse, and it irritated him endlessly. Zuko had come here seeking answers, to take information, anything, but it had been yet again his father, even in desolation, who had taken something from him. Making him feel like what had happened, had been his fault almost as entirely as the Avatar's.

He snatched the key from the guard next to him and personally locked the door shut hard as his father continued to chuckle "Fine then, continue to write in your madness. One way or another I _will_ find her. And when I do, my only fear will be in how she reacts when she sees what you've become father"

Now the new Firelord really needed to take a brief walk and meditate to calm his thundering thoughts.

But as he was making his way off from the door, his father spoke up to his retreating figure suddenly once more "All these years, trained by the best and still you've learned nothing…or did that slob Iroh neglect to remind you in your exile?"

Zuko's head snapped to glance back, as his father shimmied his body all the while holding on to the bars next to him for support "This is why your sister has always been your better at practically everything, and why you've always failed"

Ozai frowned his ashen brows and Zuko could just make out a glint of distaste "Unlike you, my daughter comprehends how to properly utilize weaknesses and use them entirely to her advantage, by any means necessary. While you lack the tact to even grasp the smallest of hints"

 _Azula?_ what did she have to do with any of this "What are you talking about? Are you still trying to convince yourself how much of a better Firelord she would have been?"

Even in his incarceration, Ozai had many ways of making him struggle with the realities of being a leader of a great nation, and yet at this point, he couldn't care less what he thought the best way to rule was. Zuko felt like he was doing fine, and he didn't need his approval nor his appreciation. _Especially_ the comparison with his sister.

"Don't you get it boy? All this time you've been coming here asking for her whereabouts, but you've never even stopped to think for one minute that maybe those surveillance reports on the palace archives you've surely read by now, and my own testimony not only match completely but are sure evidence of my own attempts at trying to locate her myself"

Ozai stretched a leg in front of his hunched body, still holding on the bars "All this time, and you've never even stopped to think that Ursa had, perhaps, willingly exiled herself. And thus, undoubtedly managed to successfully hide away, even from my sight"

Then he shifted his gaze towards him briefly "Or was it because you just couldn't bear to tell yourself that she would voluntarily desert you forever?"

The hole within his heart grew substantially and he caught himself from a sudden headache "You could have still hidden something from the archives, I know there's something you're not telling me!"

The decrepit man stifled another chuckle and merely smiled sinisterly "You're right Zuko, there is something that I neglected to tell you. Something that has never been recorded"

Zuko grunted and gripped the rusting iron bars next to the door "What!"

At this, the air suddenly got very thick around the new Firelord, as Ozai chose his next words very carefully "It was your mother who concocted the poison which killed your grandfather, Firelord Azulon. She confided to me about her plan to get rid of him that fateful night, encouraged it even. And she did it all without a single grain of remorse"

Ozai's face then wrinkled in an enraged snare as he thought about his wife and the contempt he had for her.

"You see my _son_ , in the end, no matter how noble you may think her sacrifice was to save you, she was no better than a scheming, deceitful, traitorous _murderer_ herself"

Zuko's utter shock at the revelation completely changed as he fumed and smacked the cell bars at that accusation with his bare hands, while the guard stationed there backed off "Shut your mouth! Mother was a great woman and she did what she had to, you said it yourself!"

He gritted his teeth until he could almost taste chips as the grinding began "She's a far better parent than you could have ever hoped of being. And even if what you say is true, you're the very reason for it!"

"Your mother was an ingrate as there ever was one. She was always an unpredictable, calculating woman. Her downfall was by her own hand. She deserved her own banishment and she knew it. And if there was ever one good thing that came out of her, it was your sister Azula, my _true_ , loyal heir" he continued, the scorn never leaving him.

The Firelord yelled in frustration once more. The bars he had clutched melted "You're a crazy, delusional man! I'm starting to think it was better that you banished her. Wherever she has been, and wherever she is, it can't possibly be any worst than what you had to offer! And you know what!?"

At this point the threatening headache had finally blasted, and pounded at his ears, reddening them.

The iron liquefied and flowed down his knuckles, singeing them "I'm glad you banished me that day, I'm proud I spoke out against your plans to sacrifice our troops. It was your _scheming_ against the lives of those soldiers that day that is the real treason. You're the _murderer_. The only respect you've ever had for anymore has always been for yourself!"

The liquid melted from his clutch, steaming into the cold air "You know nothing about respect, all you've ever cared about has been your own mutinous power hungry skin!"

As he said this the old Firelord inside the cell tried once more to look far more intimidating than he actually could. He made to get up but was only able to crawl next to the wall with the help of the iron bars, trying to get closer to his son.

"You foolish, prideful, arrogant brat. How would you know of respect? Who are you to lecture me about respect? When all you've ever done is rebel against your superiors"

Zuko came dangerously face to face with his father through the bars as he retorted "I've spent four years of my life travelling the entire world, agonizing, alone and isolated. I know who I am, and I know what I have to do"

His knuckles clutched together, and the liquid stuck in between his fingers "I'm the man who will make this once great nation the center of hope and peace. And I'll do it without the fear you, my grandfather and my great grandfather instilled into everybody else around the world"

He suddenly pulled his father's robes forwards by the sides again, crashing his almost emaciated frowning face into the iron columns "And when that happens _father_ , the only respect I'll ever need will be theirs"

The elder man's scowl never left him but he didn't get he chance to retort to that statement because Zuko had tossed him unceremoniously back down towards the stone floor.

"Guard, send in the smelter and reinforce these iron bars. I don't want my father getting any cute ideas" He called to one and the infantrymen, who quickly went out the dungeon door.

Fot his part, he had a right mind to clear his headache now and wash his hands. Any more of this family squabbling and he might need to be restrained from making a big mistake.

"You will never find her. If I couldn't, what makes you so sure you will?" His father echoed as Zuko turned his back to him.

"Because I'm not the one she's trying to run away from. I _will_ find her, sooner or later, you can count on that" He stepped out and started walking away.

"If you really want to know where she might be, why not try to ask your dear sister instead of bothering me? You should know by now how cunning she is at hiding secrets" His father recommended in a chiding, taunting manner.

If only his father could actually see how much worse Azula actually was, he wouldn't have been talking so favorably of her, with an attempt to plague him at every opportunity.

He took a step into the door and hesitated only for a moment before he turned his head back his way again "You talk so highly of Azula, but you have no idea how she even is"

A breath left his mouth somberly "I wish you could have seen her father…after you left her the crown. Let's just say it makes me truly _glad_ we managed to stop you"

He could hear a grumble in the dimly lighted cell block while he made his way up the stairs, but nothing else after.

The candle lights on the way up lighted his face as he pondered the thought of his sister Azula. He knew she didn't know where his mother was, but it was not because he had not asked her about it, or because she refused to say a word about her. No, the reason had been more depressing, and he did not want to recount it at this moment.

Firelord Zuko crunched his face. He had to remind himself that he had yet to go visit his younger sister. It had been far too long since the last time, and he feared his favoritism towards extracting information from his father had distracted him too much. But really, how else was he to find his mother? Any trail that she might have left had gone cold a very long time ago and he needed to hurry. What he had said to his father about finding her had been a bluff really, he had no idea if she would ever come. Though he could always hope.

His sister situation, however, was something that perhaps needed more than just a little bit of attention, as much as it made him sad to think about.

At first, he didn't really know why he bothered with her or any attempt to help her. He could have just thrown her into the dungeons to rot like he did his father for the things she had done. But after what he had seen her become, as the weeks passed and her psyche only deteriorated, he felt it in him that it was his duty to at least try and help her find her balance once more, she was his little sister after all.

Maybe it had been his brotherly instincts as well, he wasn't too sure. But Azula, as twisted as she had been, was his responsibility, perhaps now more than ever. He knew that his mother, wherever she was, wouldn't have wanted it any other way.

The young disturbed fire princess was under an intense rehabilitation effort at an Asylum in Ko Bei Island. He had no idea what happened to her before he and Katara had shown up the day of Sozin's comet, but whatever did, their arrival managed to breach a decisive push into a final cataclysmic, climactic, tumbling fall of his sister's mind. He had trouble admitting this at the time, but he was torn apart watching first hand how much she had wanted to _kill_ him out of pure spite when he had to witness her total emotional breakdown then after. Leaving her on the brink of complete insanity and into a sorry, weeping mess.

She had begged him to end her afterwards, and he thought that she had gone bonkers.

" _Kill me Zuko! Kill me! It's what you've always wanted, I know it! You and that water tribe peasant! Well, now you have the chance. What are you waiting for? Do it! Do it! DO IT!"_

 _The then Prince pinned her down by the shackles in an attempt to stifle her insane request "No Azula, it's not!"_

 _She shook more violently against him and tried feebly to write him off her "Yeah right you coward! I've always known you were a failure, but you continue to surprise me with your weakness every time! You traitor! YOU LIAR! Do it!"_

 _He kneeled atop of her after forcing her entire figure down with his own weight "I'm not gonna do it Azula, so stop asking!"_

 _Katara, having been standing there, placed a hand on his shoulder and he looked up "Zuko, maybe we should just go get the guards"_

 _She had been watching the horrifying sibling exchange somberly and it made her really sad. This was not something that she could stomach too well. Sokka and she bickered from time to time, but never like this. This was on a dimension that transcended simple personalities like theirs._

 _Zuko sighed and nodded in response. She was right, on the chance that Aang might need help, they had to be there, now that Azula had been taken care of._

 _Fume began to build under the princess' nostrils as she heard this exchange on the floor "You're going let that water tribe_ _ **bitch**_ _tell you what to do too Zu-zu? You will listen to anything any fool will tell you! Listen to this then. Kill me now!"_

 _Katara gasped, scandalized at the profanity used to insult her person, but nonetheless stayed quiet._

 _The exiled prince looked down once more and pressed his hand on the back of her head to keep her still, and answered once more. This time with a roaring edge of finality._

 _"That's enough Azula!"_

 _The would-be Firelord stopped her struggling after hearing this, but Zuko could make out a prolonged quivering of her body begin, and an unmistakable sound of suppressing whimpering._

 _"Kill me, kill me...just please"_

 _And only after a few more seconds Zuko got off her and leaned in to take her face within his palms, barely recognizing the weeping girl anymore. He couldn't let this go on anymore "I won't Azula, not you. Not my little sister"_

 _Her lips trembled and curled into a twisted fashion, as more tears fell over her dirt covered cheeks, down towards the meshed grating above the sewage passageway they sat on._

 _She dropped her eyes at the injury on his chest, made exclusively possible by her deranged tirade only a little while ago before forcing herself to look into his concerned ones again._

 _A stifled breath hitched in the back of her throat followed quickly by a sniffle, and a messy lock of hair fell before she replied back despairingly._

 _"I hate you Zu-zu"_

He sighed and rested a palm on his blaring headache, Katara had saved his life then as he had saved hers from Azula's madness. The entire ordeal often replayed into his brain for countless sleepless nights, and quite frankly, it was not doing anything for his own mental health.

The Firelord took the final step outside and mused that he had procrastinated it long enough. He would clear his head first, then go straight to the island, alone.

He would _not_ be coming back to this particular dungeon anytime soon, though. His father had nothing else to offer him, and Zuko had seen and heard enough.

After his coronation as Firelord, Zuko had found out while browsing scrolls on his father's chambers, that his mother had left the city forcefully that night, banished after his grandfather's mysterious passing. He had known before, thanks to Azula, that Azulon never intended to give the title to him in the first place since he had demanded Ozai instead kill him for his insubordination. It had all correlated so perfectly, a sick, perverse and twisted plan to get rid of his two major obstacles for the throne.

Needless to say, Zuko had almost lost it before confronting him, the first time he demanded information of her whereabouts. He had never felt such a distilled anger so crescent and deep like then, he wanted to break every limb in his body just to make sure he really couldn't walk his way out of there. But he stopped himself, remembering Aang's suggestion about violence.

As far as he was concerned, he was a lost cause.

But the self-proclaimed Phoenix king silently sitting in his cell room while the smith ironed in the bars under the watchful eye of the guards only smiled once more. It was not a smug nor a happy expression of his lips, but a rather wicked smirk.

He knew of course, well, the sinful parameters of the art of deception and its many forms. And that was something that Zuko or even the avatar could not take away from him.

Whatever his son had hoped to gain from their little _discussion_ tonight, had only served for Ozai to point to him into another more subtle, if not ominous, direction. A forbidding, dark alley with a promise of no way out.

There was no doubt in his mind of any sort, that by placing a seed of disdain in his son's frail mind, he would fracture eventually. It was a foreboding thing yes, yet effective.

Ursa was not the only one who could play these discreet, _murderous_ games.

* * *

The art of deception.

Indeed, it was not as mundane as blackmailing someone for money or simple trickery, extortion or bribery, although it could be used for such purposes. But no, creative deception required, demanded even a distilled need to control someone else's will against their very own interest. To confine them into a little box of lies until they were all but about to implode upon themselves while they still remained inside.

It required a certain degree of personal duplicity, which bordered on obsession for that control. And what better way to take advantage of the simpleton foot soldiers and peasants alike than to use fear to manipulate them? It was pleasurable at least, and gloriously relishing at its best. One had to enjoy the feeling, after all, to ensure maximum success.

A people were only as strong as their leader was, which is why the Firenation was so successful for the past century. The line of Sozin was a powerful one, and it demanded respect from all who would hear of it.

And the Firenation could have been the most respected place in the entire world too, had they taken over.

It had been the perfect plan. Of course it had…it was wholly inspired by her after all.

Azula would have been the perfect Firelord too, the very best ever for as long as her reign would last. Until the day when her father would step down and hand the mantle of ruler of the world to her, as it would naturally be appropriate.

Yes, the world would have trembled in fear, fear _her_ as they would bow down to her feet where they rightfully belonged. All beneath her and her innate ability to rule them all as they deserve to be ruled.

It would have been beautiful, had it not been for the avatar, and her traitorous former friends.

And of course, who could forget her dear big _brother_.

These had been the thoughts of the would-be Firelord of the firenation as she stared into the reinforced steel locked yet simple door in front of her semi-catatonic self.

Well, they had been for the first few weeks she had sat there defeated and shamefully restrained by an extremely resilient straitjacket and shackled ankle braces.

But as time passed, Azula, the Firenation's greatest prodigy, had turned into nothing more than a debilitated, lost, unpredictable, sometimes shivering shadow of her former self. With a snarl on her face that almost seemed to be plastered permanently on it.

Almost.

Sometimes it was replaced with what one doctor could only describe to another, right in front of her no less, as miserable melancholy. Maybe even deep regret.

But she would never admit that to anyone. Not even herself. That idiot doctor was absolutely wrong about that. ' _Deep regret? Ha! Don't make me laugh, the only regret I have right now is that my foot is not crushing your gullet'_ She was Azula, princess of the Firenation, and grand conqueror of Ba Sing Sei. She never has regrets.

 _"You kids can play here by the valley, but please don't go too far away from the beach. It could be dangerous" She looked at her eldest._

 _"Zuko, take care of your sister. Make sure she doesn't get into too much trouble"_

 _And the child on her right huffed "Why do I have to be in charge of her, she's a troublemaker"_

 _A giggle escaped next to the child._

 _She took a hand and caressed his cheek as she crouched to his level "Yes I know my love, but you're the oldest and I trust you to look after her while I'm gone"_

 _"But mom, what if she makes me do weird stuff again?"_

 _She smiled softly "Don't worry Zuko, she won't"_

 _A sound came from her left "Yeah Zu-zu, don't worry"_

 _Then she turned and sighed at her youngest "Azula, please stay out of trouble. Remember what we talked about. And please play nice with your brother. It's not often we come here to have some fun as a family"_

 _"Yes mom" she noticed the roll of her eyes._

 _Then she looked back at his unsure face once more and kissed his forehead before she did to her "I'll be back before sundown. Remember, no further than the beach's edge"_

 _And just like that, she had walked down the road towards a house in the horizon._

 _"C'mon Zuko, let's go to that grotto over there. Maybe it has some eel-clam eggs we can_ _ **crush**_ _before they hatch"_

 _"What? Didn't you just hear what mom told us? Besides, that's nasty Azula, and mess up"_

 _The youngest curled her lips and leaned in closer "I should have guessed it. You don't have the guts, do you? What's the matter Zu-zu, afraid that a platypus-bear will suddenly pull you in, or is it the dark?"_

 _"Shut up Azula! I'm not afraid of anything"_

 _The sand shifted under her feet "Oh yeah? Then prove it Dum-dum, let's go to the cave and get some eggs. It'll be fun"_

 _He grunted and crossed his arms facing away from her "No, I'm staying on the beach like mom said"_

 _"Alright then suit yourself, I'll go by myself. But if something happens to me..." She teased sensing a tension built on him and began to stride toward the cave in the distance._

 _He had always been so easy to tease._

 _And the youngest turned only once expecting him to follow or say something as she moved ahead, but was quite surprised to see him walk the other way with hard angry strides for once._

 _A simple soliloquy left her breath, as sure as she was of her own perfection._

 _"He'll come"_

"He'll come" The words left her dry, decrepit lips without her realizing it. But it didn't startle her too much that they did. These past few months, or however long she had been here, made her say some things that she would normally never have said before in the presence of others.

Her mind shifted from one glorious moment of triumph to another sad and pathetic scene of utter shameful defeat. Then back to how she had somehow lost everything, to agonizing memories of her long forgotten past. It was the only thing she had to herself anymore, her thoughts.

It didn't help at all that her mother liked to come to see her on days where she felt like she would break down again from a hidden anguish in her stomach either.

"Azula, my daughter"

Speaking of which _._

She snarled and the frown returned quickly to her face at the unwelcomed guest "What do you want? Come to chastise me some more? Or just patronize me again? I can never tell with you anymore mother"

"No Azula, I'm always here with you" The apparition of her mother reached for her daughter's disorganized hair bangs and pulled them to the side.

"And I will be here until you get better"

She huffed in a very unladylike manner and pulled away far from her reach instantly "Don't you dare touch me again! I know what you want. It's always the same with you, always pretending to care"

Her mother didn't look a day older than she had remembered her before she left, and it sickened her in more ways than one, how flawless and exquisite her skin was.

The specter moved closer to her until they were only a few feet away from each other again "I only want what's best for you, I really do"

The younger one's features, which were the spitting likeness of the image before her, wrinkled and her eyes widened as her pupils contracted "No you don't! You've hated me! Deep down inside you know that I'm right. You've constantly felt spite towards me. Thought I was a cruel monster and resented me for it. I could see it in your eyes. Don't deny it!"

Her mother leaned forward and kneeled to her eye level "My dear Azula, how could I ever think of you like that? My precious, only daughter. I've always loved you"

Azula's knuckled festered inside their confined prison, trying to free herself for just this one moment and she lunged so close to her mother's face that she came really close to crashing into her "Shut up! Just shut up and get out! Or I swear I'll scream and kill you!"

But the hallucination had only reached forward and taken her into her arms in a full-blown motherly embrace, shushing her shivering girl into her arms.

Holding her like she had done so many times before when she had been very young and unsure of herself.

The older Azula struggled to break free and toss her off, desperately trying to show her how much she didn't want her close, how much she didn't need her to care…but found all her limbs unreceptive and a sickeningly soothing calm washing over her entire frame, numbing her.

"Let go of me! Let go! I don't want your pity! I don't want you at all! Don't you get it, I hate you!"

But there was no helping this, it had always ended the same way it always did. No matter how much the princess of the Firenation fought, kicked or even tried to bite her mother's silky skin off, she would not let go of her.

And Azula would only relent her maniacal thrashing after her cascading tears stains dropped passed her straitjacket to the cushioned soft floor, when her yells ceased to howling sobbing intakes of deep breaths, when her struggle gave only to be replaced with her body curling onto itself, seeking warmth and shelter from the pain in her chest.

"I hate you!" Azula wouldn't realize when her mother had stopped cuddling her.

"hate you" she didn't know when she had disappeared from behind her, or when her arms had unwrapped around her.

"you..." And she didn't care when or how long she had actually been laying by herself, alone on the floor the whole time until one of the doctors or orderlies would come to feed her or for her medicine.

She had no idea, and she had no clue how to stop her from doing this. The only regular contact that she had other than her where these captors. No one else but those damnable druids who came to sedate her and interrogate her with silly questions about her _troubled_ life. What a joke.

Her dreadful mother, they told her, was nothing more than a delusive phase of her broken down mind. An illusion propagating out of a lack of empathy for every living thing, rooted deeply inside from what they said, was probably an innate insecurity that was swallowing her subconscious humanity.

It was all a whole lot of turtle duck crap to her. Azula knew her mother was there, torturing her for what she had done in her past. Blaming her for what she was, ashamed of her, how she acted and what had almost happened to Zuko, in large part because of her. Haunting her for the way she was toward her brother, her family, her friends and her people.

And it was eating at her so much, Azula had begun to lose the concept of reality as it appeared to her.

Mother, her friends, her brother, everyone she had relied on the slightest in the past had _betrayed_ her. It left a deep gash inside of her, Azula had felt alone and scared when they had torn her heart apart, her perfect world was shattered on the very day she was to become Firelord.

The irony of it all.

"He'll come"

And her dear _brother_ Zuko had become the very catalyst for her fall.

Azula blinked her tears off her eyes as best she could. She hated to admit it to herself, but there was no denying it anymore, Zuko had bested her at the Agni Kai and if he hadn't placed himself between her and that _peasant_ bitch he seemed to be very close to, she might have actually, well….lost.

Dear brother thought he had done the right thing by sparing her own life when he could have easily taken it after the Agni Kai. But she didn't buy it for one second, she couldn't. She told herself he wanted her subdued, suffering for her transgressions against him even more, which was exactly what was happening to her right now.

He was always so weak, so easy to tease and manipulate. He had no other reason to keep her alive but to torment her back. She knew he hated her with the fury of a thousand suns, he had to, and he was just trying to kid himself that he wasn't a monster like her by taking pity and forcing her into this emotionality draining environment.

He was lying when he said he cared about her well being, he had to be! He was a dirty traitor for Agni's sakes!

She hated him for it too.

Always trying to right the wrong, always so pathetically soft and kind to everything and everyone. Open to attacks and easily trusting to everyone who looked like they might have good intentions. As they grew together, Azula knew that sooner or later, it would only come to bite him back.

She had watched her father's punishment of dear Zu-zu and enjoyed the display of carnage then. It was inspiring to see him at work, properly displaying his power and authority as any Firelord should, but even he couldn't have foreseen what Zu-zu's banishment would have ultimately entailed. At the time, Azula had ulterior motives to enjoy his suffering as well when he was disgraced and banished for speaking out. Not least of all the family crown for her very bright future.

But Zu-zu had somehow found a way, even with her prodding along after the avatar and later his infuriating betrayal, to succeed and push forward ahead of her so thoroughly and decisively, it was humiliating. Only to plant her in this place to fade away like a bad memory with but her mother to keep her conscience afflicted.

It had all been for nothing in the end. All the meticulous planning, scheming and training for years on. And yet Azula had ended up cast out from her former glory and honor herself. Never before having felt a pain of dejection and dishonor as much as she had now.

The feeling was excruciating.

Her dry mouth growled and she bit her bottom lip until scarlet poured out and down her chin.

He hadn't come in over two months, he was her only other visit and he had only come twice ever.

Maybe he had finally gotten sick of looking at her at her lowest. Disgusted at what she had become as time passed by.

Her brother, her dear _Zu-zu._ The things that she had done to him, and now the things that he was doing to her. It was maddening, she didn't want to admit that she deserved them. Because she didn't.

She hunched forwards on the fuzzy mat that was provided to her over the cushioned floor.

Why did he have to be such an angsty, disloyal, backstabbing, disgraceful jerk! They could have won the world. Together!

They could have taken the entire world by the throat, even without father with but the right attitude and their firebending skills. He had shown more than enough prowess at Ba Sing Sei when dear old mutinous uncle decided to aid those fools escape. Not even the avatar could stop them when they were one. Zuko showed then to be an exceptional, extraordinary, even exemplary firebender, a late bloomer perhaps, but nonetheless incredible.

Azula might have been a liar of the biggest caliber, but she was not lying when she asked her brother for help then. Her instincts had told her then that her brother was the key to either complete or utterly destroy her plans, she needed him. And her instincts had never let her down before.

Where before he had been a disgrace and an unbalanced weakling, he had become a full-fledged master of the technique, if nothing else. When she had fought him at their Agni Kai, his remarkable raw power alone left her speechless even as she desperately tried to hold her own.

Whatever had happened to him after he left them to go join that ridiculous gang of peasants and fools, had somehow only made him stronger and fiercer. More determined and focused, bold and unpredictable, even commanding and terrifying.

If only he could have restrained himself from doing such stupid and treasonous things. If only _she_ had intervened earlier when the signs of his wavering loyalty where bubbling up like a volcano ready to explode. But she couldn't have conceived it then, she was sure Zu-zu's one great goal was always to return home and regain his lost acceptance, his honor back. After all, she had played with that fact against him to her advantage in Ba Sing Sei, and it had worked beautifully.

If only she had been a little more thoughtful of his situation back at the palace.

But then again Azula was not the type to meddle in such simpering, soapy sensitivities.

She might have lied to her father about the killing of the avatar, but she had just done it as insurance in case her dear brother knew something she didn't. And in the end, at worst Zu-zu would be humiliated by father if it proved true. It was his fault anyway, he should have said something to her. Azula would come to poor Zu-zu's rescue ofcourse, playing both sides, and he would owe her big time.

Yet being the dum-dum that he was, Zuko had taken care of that himself anyway. No doubt knowing when the meek and shallow invasion of the capital came, led by those rustic, filthy peasants on the darkest day, would undoubtedly reveal the avatar in all his lively presence. And even though she hated to admit this as well, he had done it without any amount of guilt and gotten away with it in style, turning all her plans upsidedown.

This had been the beginning of the fall for her, as her pawns one by one trickled in between the cracks of her own fingers, like beach sand. All thanks to Zuko, starting with Mai then Ty Lee, those two unfaithful, good for nothing _freaks_. Disobedience would not be tolerated by the Firenation, she had to set an example. It was only the natural thing expected to do.

The disbalance created by these actions, though, left an open vacuum for the ultimate outcome of the entire war effort. Only for her brother and the Avatar to see and seize upon it together.

She had indeed miscalculated. Completely underestimating the situation with her brother and that unknown power which he had ensnared into himself. Zu-zu, it appeared, had the very qualities of a leader in him after all.

Her ruthless gratification towards him was not something that was exclusive, however. She knew he knew that fact. It was not her fault the people she put down, squashed, abused, embarrassed and shamed were stupid enough to fall for the clear traps laid under then.

No, it was _their_ fault they led something as mundane and feeble like trust rule over their naive, simple little minds every day. Basic history lessons alone at the Academy of famous captains, admirals, and even generals, not just of the Firenation but every nation, had proven this true. So many territories, so much power, which had taken years to conquer in some cases, lost because of cretins and their precious, frivolous sentimentality. She was above them in every way possible and she had deserved to be so by her very actions. She had only to point at her greatest achievement: the conquest of the impenetrable city itself, with the help of its own agents no less.

 _Trust_ , what a fool's notion.

And yet as she sat there hunched upon her bed on her knees, staring at nothing in front of her but the enclosed tinted cell in her face, with cuffs, chains and a straitjacket to restrain any type of violent movement. Guards and doctors observing her every flinch, lost in nothing but wanton thoughts and phantom needs, haunted by the memories of her mother and forgotten by her people, on the brink of insanity.

The art of deception, it would seem in the end…had nothing left to offer her but same abandonment and betrayal. Like everything and everyone else.

"He'll come"

* * *

He could have taken the short way down the carefully, recently raked and swept path toward the clandestine chapel like institution for _special_ inmates of the firenation, but chose the longer, less refined cracked walkway instead. He could have come, perhaps earlier in the afternoon where the sole searing yellow star above the earth would have been the true radiant guide to mark his path rather than that of dim bright glows millions of light years away from him. He could have been greeted by the many nameless subjects that looked to his attention and respect the few times he had made his way here, and not the hypnotizing resonating sounds of yard-hoppers in the bushes.

He could have passed by the large botanical gardens full of fire lilies during the day, when he could see the less threatening patients roam the outskirts of the Asylum somewhat peacefully, instead of lurking on the blackness which befell it on especially dark nights like these as he made his way to the front door before knocking on it.

He could have, but he didn't.

These were entirely _not_ decisions made for the mundane purposes of stalling the inevitable in some unseen little way, of course not.

But the new Firelord was and had always been someone who preferred his privacy above any kind of admonished admiration. And besides, this had hardly been the first time he strutted to far away places at questionable times to do what would seem questionable things.

Well, he was the Lord of the firenation now, he could get away with some things at least.

A white-robed clad medicine man who looked not much older than himself answered him as the light inside pierced into the night from the large crack of the huge wooden door being opened.

"Yes, how can I help you" It was a polite question, yet to the point.

Zuko removed his hood from his head and the light instantly bathed not just his prominent facial attributes, but the distinct crown hoisted above his head.

"I'm here on family business" he answered in a monotone voice.

"F-Firelord, it's an honor to have you here, please do come in" He stuttered surprised before stepping off to give way.

Zuko gracefully went inside and started walking towards a large marvel staircase ahead which he was most familiar with already without a second thought.

"My apologies for the cold greeting Firelord, we were not expecting a royal visit from you tonight" the young healer answered nervously as he followed, wondering if perhaps he had somehow failed to get an important nightly memo.

But the red-clad young man just grunted as he walked ahead of him "Do you know if head doctor Zhu is at his office, I need to speak with him at once"

"O-of course your majesty, he's right up the stairs to the left. Allow me to esco-"

"There will be no need for that, practitioner, I am right here" A rather light voice reverberated from the side of the second floor alcove next to the marvel stairs.

Both Zuko and the young medic stopped for the moment and looked up while an elder man moved dutifully down the chiselled stone stairs.

"I'll be taking it from here, please return to your duties"

The young medic seemed a bit uncertain at first but nonetheless saluted with a traditional firenation bow of respect to his superiors, maybe somewhat relieved "As you wish headmaster Zhu"

He took off a second after in another direction and the monarch stood to face the slender man that had just stepped down to his level, who but bowed as well in his regal presence "It is a pleasure to see you healthy and strong again Firelord Zuko, I hope all is well in the capital city"

Zuko held the scowl "You were expecting me already? How did you know? I didn't send word of my arrival"

Doctor Zhu grabbed his own beard a moment later and motioned for them to walk down a familiar corridor to the right "Please your highness, don't look so surprised, the docks are after all right in front of my office windows. I was expecting someone at least. Although if I may say so your grace, there aren't many royal family members left since your ascendance to the throne, less even so who would come to Ko Bei Island"

At Zuko's raised eyebrow, he added with a comically pointed finger in the air "Also, at least as far as I know, we aren't expecting any new patients or supplies drops anytime soon"

Zhu stroked his beard laughing a bit at his light humor but decided to get to the point afterwards "Ehrm, but anywho, to what do I owe the privilege once more Firelord, of your visit? Have you come to review the assessment reports personally?"

Zuko grunted loudly at the obvious side jokes but shook his head, unlike his father he could understand a jest, but he was not in the mood right now "I'm going to have a little chat with my sister, if it's not clear yet"

The eldest man held himself a bit more serious as he replied suggestively, clearly expecting this "Ah I see, somehow I had a feeling you would your honor. Please then, allow me to debrief you. There have been developments"

While they walked further within the hallowed corridors of the Asylum and the more he was explained about his sister's condition, Zuko's attitude had only managed to decline exponentially, with each passing step he took down and about the maze. Surely the depressing trek towards her well-guarded room had been the main thing responsible for it, though, and not just what the doctor had to say about her dire situation.

It was after all chilly, gloomy and somewhat creepy having to pass by locked room after room, with nameless tags on, and sometimes moaning, steel hard doors.

The doctor, however, didn't seem to be faded by this one bit. During his long oration, he might have strayed a bit explaining a little more of the facilities and managing to suggest to him somewhat subtly of some of the things, not least of which included a hefty amount of expenses they might need to make certain living conditions and _operations_ more probable to succeed.

His gut must have been wrenching at some of the unsavory comments he heard from him about dissecting a patient's brain while they still drew breath, and not because of how cynical he sounded when he brought up his sister's recent progress report.

His eyes must have dropped suddenly and involuntarily on their own when he had caught a glimpse at the otherworldly form of a half induced man hobbling along an adjacent hallway with an orderly guiding him, and not because Zhu shook his head grimly at a particular commentary of her sibling's deteriorating mental and physical health.

His fist must have clenched at his sides in a threatening instinctual fashion when two other medics covered in blood all but passed by quickly, murmuring at each other without a greeting or even stopping, and not because he heard the man next to him mention the term _suicidal tendencies_ escape his hair covered lips almost in ligh humor as they approached his little sister's confinements.

His blood must have been boiling within his veins because he was stressed from long days of listening to councilors, generals, and envoys regarding the progress of the retreat movement, and not because of the agonizing thought of what he would witness once more.

"There is always progress mind you, even when it comes to, ah shall we say, _difficult_ minds, such as with the princess. My own data has shown a small rise in constructive cognitive reaction when people close to patients come to see them. That is…if the interaction itself was positive in the first place."

He held his chin up.

"The question is, however dire their situation, what the true driving force behind their fractured attitude is itself."

The young Firelord looked sideways questioningly at him but said nothing when he realized that they had finally arrived.

Zhu knew from the moment he met the man not to practice any amount of experimental tests on his sister. The young Firelord had made sure he understood this point _very_ well when she was first introduced here.

"Ah, here we are" The man finally clapped his hand somewhat more vigorously than the spirit of the moment required.

Two guards with long and sharp spears at the end of a hall saluted as the duo managed to reach them. Zhu held his hand up and then gestured them to Zuko with a regard "The Firelord here wishes for a private meeting with the patient. Would you please be so kind?"

Not one of them spoke but stepped aside in a rehearsed manner away the wide mechanical door to give way to Zuko and Zhu. He noticed how much taller these individuals were compared to the others he had seen last time, and their spears, being far more upgraded, with thick and sharp metal ends almost touching the fire lantern above their heads.

Zuko heard a jingle of metal while the doctor pulled out a certain golden key from his pocket and turned it over a hole inside the heavy looking door. It was at this point that the meticulous contraption mechanism within the door's gears snapped into action and Zuko could hear several metal hinges creak and clank with disturbed tension as they became free once more.

Then there was a snap and the noise died before the echoes subsided to the hallway behind them only a few seconds afterwards. The door had been unlocked.

"She's still right where you left her Firelord. The specialized manacles on her wrist will prevent her Firebending like always. But as I said, she has still been hallucinating at irregular intervals, not to mention the sudden aggressive episodes, so please do take great care. And remember to be gentle" It was nothing short of a textbook reminder.

The younger man grunted but moved forward as the doctor waited for him on the side and opened the door himself. He needn't be told any of this, he was well aware of his sister's violent ministrations and delicate condition. He knew what he was stepping into now by experience. And he was most certainly not here to undo what he was deeply hoping was some sort of headway.

And as soon as his form entered, his little sister's head snapped upwards at the invasion from her perpetual solitude. Adjusting her pupils at the surprised intrusion and blinking to the shadow blocking the bathing lamp lights from the outside hallway.

He grabbed the side frame of the door before stepping inside just barely, without taking his eyes off her once, and felt the heavy looking door shut with a little more force than he thought should be commandeered.

Maybe his knuckles hadn't yet lessened in stress after hearing the doctor's explanation, or from when he melted his father's cell bars. Zuko really didn't want to destroy this door as well.

"Why if it isn't the Firelord himself, I'm absolutely _honored_ " the sound perforated the atmosphere betwixt them, with an edge that bordered on embittered sarcastic teasing.

Zuko narrowed his eyes at the pencil picture frail figurine covered in a white straitjacket before his presence, which left him feeling insufferable abhor for but a moment in the past, and now only beheld oppressive grief, with only one word escaping him in response.

"Azula"

 _"Azula!" a flapping of toucan puffins startled him but for a second._

" _Azulaaaaa! Where are you!"_

 _The young child prince had looked for quite a while about the valley and the shore for his younger sibling. And yet had found nothing._

 _"Answer me! Azula!" But his young, pubescent mind already knew the grim answer, despite trying to deny it._

 _Perhaps it wasn't such a fair idea, after all, to let her do whatever she wanted to do. Knowing her tendencies and the way she hatched them into existence._

 _He took off towards the darkened hollow mountain mouth his feet had knowingly pressed him close towards anyway. Stalling had once more proven nothing more than a waste of energy and time._

 _And the fear that settled only grew._

 _"Azula, are you in there!"_

 _It was this clammy, and decrepit murkiness which spoke more to him than any answer made by a human. And his eyes shifted to find any glitter of light as he stood at the edge of darkness._

 _Single drops and drips of the moss covered rocks above his eyes were a more direct response. As they dissipated in harmonious togetherness to join the shallow wet sand beneath._

 _The rays of precious light had dwindled dangerously low over the horizon and their mother had yet to come still. The blue ocean behind sparkled a unique shine which only betrayed his own mounting anxiousness._

 _He took his palm next to his worried expressiveness and lit it with Sozin's fire. If but one twinkle of life to steer his squinting eyes and lift his sunken spirit. Still inexperienced with his heritage, but determined to use it when it was needed._

 _As keeper of the fire, his courage had been forcefully summoned, however timidly._

 _" Hello! Azula?" His young mind trickled in doubt but while he stepped deeper, the sand only gave to rocky gravel "If you're trying to scare me it's not gonna work. Mom's gonna be here soon so you better come out now."_

 _Once more the great quiet was his singular reply. Maybe the echoes that reverberated in wavelength after oscillating sonic vibrancy from his own voice made the cave mumble a tiny while. But this held no small amount of comfort._

 _His eyes shifted downwards when he felt movement between his small boots, spotting an elongated, rather porous brown like creature with a shell slither by._

 _He crouched and looked a bit closer as it dug under the ground, undoubtedly seeking deeper shelter. It's distinct eel-like semblance rocketing his mind and putting things more into perspective._

 _The young boy took a step forward and noticed it then. Plastered to the sides and to the floor and even to the ceiling, hundreds if not thousands of egg clutches sticking together._

 _Almost as if huddling in muggy ooze harmony from the musty cold of the dawning night._

 _Not one least the petite lithe porcelain figure of an undeniable childlike girl, pasted with them._

 _"Azula!"_

 _Unmoving._

 _And then he noticed the bruise on her usually silky skin right in her meek cheek. A swelling that far exceeded the baby fat he was used to seeing. Sickening reddened blemish close to equally pinkish closed lids. Her tidy hair was a mess and he noticed horrible struggling scorch marks on her hands and fingers._

 _But the second he began to approach the unmoving marionette covered in slime, hanging by but the transparent gung alone, his feet gave way at a towering earthshaking quake under them._

 _He covered his eyes and ears for a moment at the bellowing shriek thundering about the cave, howling in a terrible cry which left him horrified and frozen on the floor he suddenly found himself on._

 _The creature that had emerged from the darkness was one that he had just seen burrowing for cover, only at a remarkably larger scale, and with developed snake-like fangs._

 _It snarled threateningly his way, and at the faint diminishing sunlight from the mouth of its home._

 _But it was not its revolting gooey properties that startled him out of his stupor, nor the entirely dilating black irises which challenged him to move a single muscle, nor was it the gnashing lengthy yellow fangs only a couple of feet from his very face._

 _What had made him take motion off from the muddy, rough ground, as the tail curled around his young defenseless sister's limpness body, what prompted him to suddenly stand and ignite Sozin's fire with a ferocity that he had never before experienced before, as its main body slowly tried to retreat with its threatening tail within the confines of the clam shell, what brought him to face the monster several toppling feet over his weak figure and not flinch the moment it made to burrow even as it lunged its monstrous face towards his own, was not for the life of the young crowned boy of whom he was, in desperate retaliation._

 _A fireball perhaps a size too big his own blasted its left side and the screech was only subdued by a crack of the hollowed grotto._

 _"Not my little sister you monster, get away from her!"_

"It's been a while you know, I must admit I almost felt abandoned dear Zu-zu" The chained female inmate lips went up into an insane elongated grin as she leaned forward "Have you come for another royal appraisal again? I know how much you like to tell me how I need to behave in this lovely place. Or is it maybe, you're just here to stare at the confined monster some more? I'm sure you must find that more gratifying"

Azula's pupils contracted as she sniggered loudly for a bit over her demented demeanor.

But even the spilled toxin in the form of words could not afflict Zuko's already gloomy, recently patched heart. The lord of fire had expected such a sardonic, tasteless greeting, despite never getting used to it. This was Azula after all.

It was her expression, that wild, maniacal accusatory and yet merry way in which she said it that drew pause to anything he would say back to her. Make him think twice before he brought out some harsh retort or angry denial that would take him nowhere later.

Many doctors had said that the youngest heiress needed to have human contact with someone she was familiar with from time to time. Clearly, neither of their parents could fill that gap and uncle Iroh was a long way from home. And when he came by, it was hardly for anything related to Zuko's sister.

This was his grim responsibility.

"Don't say that Azula, you know why I come to see you" he answered calmly, but with a small reprimanding tone.

In response, the young dethroned princess made to move up closer but was held back in place by the shackle on her ankles. She settled by inching forward "Really Zu-zu, you can't possibly expect me to believe anything a traitor like you says anymore can you?"

The Firelord sighed and held the bridge on his nose for a moment. He took it upon himself to stand straighter before igniting a fireball within his palm to brighten up the confined gloom which surrounded them.

"I don't expect you to believe anything from me Azula. You've hardly ever had anyway. I only ask that you try to cooperate more with these people while you're in here, for your own good" He answered serenely.

Azula's lip twitched and one side rode further upwards, but this grin didn't reach her eyes in the least "I've been a good princess brother, what so ever could you be talking about? If anyone is at fault here, it's them for thinking they could just impose things on me. Did you know they once tried to pry my mouth open forcefully? To take that vile drug?"

The fire sparked lively now, as he moved it in front of him "I've heard Azula, I also know you attempted to kill yourself that day"

She tittered in a sickly fashion "I was only trying to finish what you should have started dear Zu-zu. Again, I'm not the one at fault here, it's you for not doing it. You should be thanking me, and punishing _them_ for their insolence"

She then cracked a short laugh to further accentuate the insanity he could clearly read like a book now. The last part of that sentence coming out like vile venom from the deadliest of serpents.

He blinked once but held his gaze steady within his lids "No Azula, let them help you. The sooner that you're better, the sooner you can be back to normal. And don't try to take your own life again, it's not helping your situation"

This time, the laughter that rolled off her lips was unquestionable. And it was nothing short of maniacal "My dear brother doesn't want me to die yet, does he? I never knew you had it in you Zu-zu. And you called me cruel, how sweet of you."

Her face fell forward "You know, even I would have been far more merciful and killed you by now"

These last few words left her in a deteriorating manner and Zuko could just make out her eyes dilate ever so slightly before they retreated to their dwindled crazed norm. It was a subtle small sign, but one nonetheless.

The light sparkled somewhat stronger from his fingertips as he lit the room more prominently. He wanted to be sure he wasn't seeing things himself.

"Death is not always the answer. And I didn't put you here to torment you either Azula. If I had wanted that, you can be sure I would have thrown you to rot in a cold, and dark cell. Alone, without your ability to Firebend, for the rest of your life"

The twist in her wrinkling face become prominent as the light danced around them, and the pronounced shadows only adorned them further. Perhaps not happy with the direction the conversation had taken, Azula's changed rapid demeanor would have left a chill over his spine if he hadn't known her so well.

But he knew she knew he had advocated fiercely against taking away her bending, he had told her so last time when their conversation got a bit more heated. Despite reason telling him otherwise, or his friends trying to make him see the light. Most especially Sokka and his girlfriend Mai, who made very convincing arguments about many people suffering from a most probable act of retaliation.

His own appearance darkened at the recollection, but he was swiftly brought back from his adverse mingling.

"Don't preach to me that nonsense Zuko, because it's not going to work. Exchanging one cell for another is not an excuse, no matter how much you want to disguise it with your petty lies. I know you find the idea of keeping my bending hilarious to give me false hope. Admit it. You love knowing that I'm here don't you? Making me think I'll have a chance one day. Cuffed, barred and sedated constantly. Treated like a wild animal."

These particular angry declarations would have hurt him if he hadn't steeled himself for its inevitable upbringings. But he had a job after all, and she needed his help.

"Tortured like a beast" she snarled in continuation.

"You're wrong Azula. I take no pleasure in watching you like this"

A deep growl formed in her throat and she snorted "Don't make me laugh! If you truly don't like seeing me like this, oh _great_ benevolent Firelord, then let me go now from this living nightmare. Or kill me already and be done with it!"

The Firelord heaved and shook his head dismissively "You know I can't do that Azula. And you're the one who's making this more unbearable than it should be"

"Oh please dear Zu-zu, I told you already didn't I? _Nothing_ about this place is helping me one little bit. Don't you get it, it's a waste of time. I hate it!"

It was at this point in the conversation that Zuko crunched his face. He had heard that before from her of course, and he was always inclined to believe it despite knowing she was good at playing the victim when it was favorable for her.

Well, at least most likely. He knew by far too much experience that Azula had an uncanny tendency to lie on any occasion possible if needed, and she has always loved to do it to him especially. She was very good at it too.

He took a step forward towards her and gazed straight into her eyes, he was just gonna cut right to the chase.

"Azula" he almost shouted in a very commanding voice, one perhaps, befitting his regal status.

She straightened somewhat more on the floor, as her maniacal eyes seem to focus a little once more.

"You're sick. I put you in this place to make sure that one day you can look someone in the eyes and the first thought that comes to your mind is not how you can exploit them for your own personal gains, but so you can think better of them and thus, yourself. "

The Firelord's face crunched even more in a very serious demeanour, with his temples fiercely close together, and his eyes piercing right through to his sister, almost as if concentrating.

"I put you in here so that one day, you can see how sadistic and cruel it is to think that we are better than the rest of them. That you are somehow better than them just because you were born more talented, more powerful, or in a better position."

His hand blazed a crescent scarlet flame masterfully, intuitively illustrating his point until the whole room was lit. Keeping the radiant, deep crimson flame afloat his palm in a supremely expertly way. Azula gazed at it for a moment a bit surprised before turning back to him.

"You're here because I want to see you one day understand that nothing in this world can be perfect and because of that, it is a beautiful place to live in. _If_ you let it be"

With his eyes still on her, Zuko moved his fireball quickly and decided to light all the torches on the adjacent walls of the room, wanting to brighten up the place and settle his firebending for the time being. In a way perhaps, that oddly enough reminded him of a time when he had done the same at a different time for a different girl.

Once finished, he let the remainder of Sozin's fire evaporate to nothing but gas particles on his fist. Now with the room amply lit red and even a few degrees hotter than before, he needn't keep the meek flame alive.

The aura around him seemed to have levitated quite a few notches as well, something Azula had never before sensed on him.

A few seconds passed with neither one of them saying anything to the other. The pregnant silence was something that they hadn't experienced with each other for a very long time, and never in such a matter.

Azula was lost in something that resembled a mixture of confusion and wonderment as she bore witness to his ministrations. Or at least, that's what Zuko thought.

It was rare to see her not retort in some smart snide or malicious quip that always left her feeling on top of things. Especially when it involved anything even remotely related to him.

Silence was the only answer though, and as the moments passed by, Zuko thought Azula was just going to give him a silent treatment so that he would just go away. A few people in the past had done it to him, with great success he would say now that he thought about it.

But perhaps it was just another petty challenge that his sister had somehow concocted in her twisted head. She had always thought it amusing to distill some kind of tasteless trick on him, a ridiculous ruse, to make him think she was testing his inner will on one of their inconsequential sibling rivalries when in reality, she was just playing him like a Tsungi horn to get her tickles out of him.

And by the spirits, did she know how to get under his skin with it.

Just as he was about to end this practical charade though, Azula spoke her mind in nervous request.

"Please stop that"

 _Stop? Stop what?_ He mused in a bit of a surprise within his head.

Of all the things he expected to hear from her dangerously undernourished pale lips tonight, it was most definitely not that.

Zuko blinked first and then raised his eyebrow, thinking he might not have heard her right as the youngest monarch finally broke away from their stare down to look at the side wall where the torch light danced with life.

"What?"

And he wasn't sure if that was a subtle insult or not, but it did puzzled him momentarily nonetheless.

"Right about now, you're looking just like _him_ Zuko"

She glanced down at her bounded arms and shifted in place while she timidly continued, for some unknown reason not looking at him at all. He wasn't sure if it was his imagination but he thought he saw her shuddering for a split second afterwards.

"Just...please"

More stillness fed the surrounding area as Zuko narrowed his eyes. Her avoidance and even slight antsy voice not passing out of his spectrum of thought.

And he exhaled to calm his thundering thoughts, and the air about them both.

Instantly, the temperature in the room cooled a little more, with the torches he had ignited losing some of their deep red crimson.

Azula found the will to look back at him with a more cautious eye as the light surrounding them became fainter.

What in the world was that suppose to mean? She couldn't be alluding to their father, could she? Though maybe he should not take her too seriously in any case, considering her situation.

Then again, this was the second time he had heard something like that today, and it was starting to make him wonder and worry him.

"Let's not bring him into this"

For many reasons, Azula found this a tad hysterical, considering how ruthless he had been towards her in placing her on this forsaken place.

With a sigh she didn't know she had held, she composed herself as well as she could have given her circumstances, before speaking her mind once more in a more modestly taunting tone.

"Oh? Why is that? I thought all you wanted was to be a powerful Firelord just like him. Supreme ruler and master of the Empire, as was your birthright as the oldest" she teased him.

The Firelord's annoyed expression returned "My birthright was never to take the throne. That was Lu-Ten's inheritance, you know this Azula"

The young woman smirked slightly as she stared back at him in arrogance "Oh that's right, _your_ birthright was to die, wasn't it? How silly of me to have forgotten. But you see now how addled my memory can get when they force me to consume those delectable sedatives"

That added mockery didn't sit well with him, and Zuko showed it when his right knuckle gave a sudden crack.

"Yes, it's a shame really. I didn't find out myself until after you left, but when I saw _her_ letters, it all suddenly became so much clearer to me."

Azula's warped onesided grin returned to her cheeks as she re-introduced to him the tale he surely would have known by now.

"The harsh way father treated you, how the disgust slithered up his throat everytime he had called for you. That look in his eyes whenever you gave him more reason to suspect your blood. When you failed to live up to his high expectations, proving to him further and further that you were not _his_ "

Her eyes shone with hidden amusement at this. It was maddening.

"But I always knew that you were father's legitimate son, even if I saw no reason to believe otherwise at the time, and tonight only proves it to me."

There were lines that were very easy to cross when it came to shattering his calm demeanor and make him explode into an angry man, after all, he was Zuko. But the ones that broke his inner peace, those were hard to traverse by. The ones that pierced him deeply where it hurt the most. And today had been a marathon of these.

He had had enough of her disparaging, dirty tongue.

He didn't have all night to deal with this anymore, and so decided he was going to give her a taste of her own medicine now and put her in her place once and for all.

"And what was your birthright _little_ sister? To be the last one in a line of a deceiving, treacherous replacement? Bred to be the bride of one of father's first class noble merchant friends in the colonies? A juvenile housewife with an unusual, exceptional firebending prowess which rivaled only her temper"

The Firelord leaned closer into her and held her chin roughly at her shocked, disgruntled face.

"You were never meant to be anything more than one of father's laughable attempts at charming grandfather into considering him for Firelord instead of uncle, the true heir to the throne"

Azula angrily tried to free her chin from his grip but he kept her in place as her glare intensified.

"I read the records Azula. Including the ones you wrote" The Firelord gazed at her more intently.

To this, Azula's aghast mouth and eyes didn't surprise him one bit, nor did her distinct feminine gasp.

"You knew this well, yet you chose to remain silent and play along with his perverse plan"

"Argh! Let go of me!"

"Why Azula? Was it because you wanted to prove him wrong? And everyone else? Or maybe because you were just intimidated by him? An opportunistic coward just waiting in the shadows for the right moment to strike"

"Y-you b-bastard! No! I was always loyal to him, unlike you! Let go of me now!"

But the Firelord clenched her jowl enough to leave marks on her trembling face and stop her from leaving his grasp.

"Or was it because you just didn't care and just enjoyed seeing me suffer infront of him and mother?"

"No! Stop this! Argh!" she growled.

Zuko finally let her go and her head snapped into another direction as her hair bangs fluttered to the side of her face.

"You were never truly loyal to him. You see Azula, our birthright never meant anything to either of us. You've been trying to run away from yours since as far as you can remember, for your own reasons. So don't kid yourself!"

He stepped back to his previous position in the room as he watched her agitated form "the only difference is that I chose to be a part of something with more value, and that only happened because I had the guts to stand up to him and help those you would call _peasants_ "

"Ha! You're a joke Zuko! Father always knew who the better one was, that was why he ultimately made me Firelord. And you, the only reason you became one was because you had the gall to _betray_ us that day, for those _insects_! Because you knew it was your only way out. The only way for you to take the throne. Tell me I'm wrong!" Azula sneered in revulsion at him with her demented angered eyes.

How dare he offend her in such a ghastly matter! Father loved her above everything else. She was the very definition of perfection.

Zuko grimaced as he glanced from her accusatory, angered and demanding scowl, only pausing for a moment to contemplate her accusation.

She huffed in outrage when he said nothing and wriggled on her knees on the floor "See I knew it. You're such a liar. And you're so terrible at it too, when will you ever learn Dum-dum?"

But he just cracked a simple chuckle her way "No Azula, I left because I realized, after spending nearly four years in exile, just how much I didn't belong into father's distorted new world order"

He pointed at his scar with his thumb as he continued "And if that made me a traitor, then so be it"

"Not just a traitor to his land but also a proud one too. How positively nauseating. Perhaps you inherited more of _her_ lowly side of the family than I thought" Azula made a revolted face.

He acquiesced to ignore that insulting comment about their mother's heritage, nonetheless though, continued in his interrogation with that thought in mind.

"And perhaps if you had been more like our mother, you wouldn't be in this situation right now"

His sister's eyes jerked for a moment "Don't you dare even try to compare me to that-that filth! She was no real mother to me!"

Zuko raised his eyebrow while crossing his arms at the way she reacted toward this simple insinuation, noticing just how much extra virulence she concocted as she insulted their long-lost mother. So, he decided to prod the issue more.

"Why would you say that? Mother took care of you well when she was still in the palace"

Maybe it was the way he said it, even though he seriously doubted it, but Azula cackled madly at that declaration.

He nonetheless waited until his sister's maniacal laughter died down long enough for her to explain herself with the same degree of loathing in each word she spewed.

"If you think _that_ woman cared enough about me to glance my way twice in one day, you were even more of a dunderhead than I thought you were. Though I suppose it would be hard to think about anything else with your face full of her bosom half of the time, wouldn't it dearest Zu-zu?"

Despite himself, the Firelord blushed at that intimation before shaking his head at what she said.

"I think your time alone with father has tangled your insides far worse than I thought it possible."

The New Firelord sighed, the rebellious look on his sister eyes returning after only a mild humorous distraction at his expense.

How typical of her. Even in this crazy, delusional state, her mind worked fast at trying his patience. A brief moment of resignation passed over his thoughts. It was just brief, but it was undeniably there, and it left him a little unbalanced.

He looked at her and wondered to himself for a split second, what he would do if she were to break free.

Mai's dour voice dug on his conscious, going colder than usual when she made him face that reality. What would he do?

He noticed her arms twitch in an almost hidden shudder. Asking him again, what would he do? As a leader, what would he do when Azula held the throat of an innocent before his eyes?

What would his people say of him if he failed them? What would they think? What would he think of himself?

Was he a good man for letting her live? Or not?

How many would he _sacrifice_ because of his choices? Because he choose her over them.

 _Sacrifice._ Sacrifice his own people, for his own selfish needs. Just as his father had entertained the idea all those years ago.

Did he really need this much grief? Did the nation? He doubted he could continue this for as long as their lives would take them. The fact that she was still being as stubborn and difficult, albeit more insane, after all this time left him almost hopeless at times.

He stared at her and she reclined back on the floor somewhat more with a quizzical look at him.

"Well _Firelord Zu-zu_ , I wasn't the one who got banished after all. So of course I spent more time with him. What did you expect? That I go on my own little exile trip for no reason at all?"

Zuko gazed down at his palms as he unclenched them in front of him, and lit them up with Sozin's flame's once more.

It was just a brief thought, but it was followed by the consideration with which his sister herself had begged him to take. The very one that he didn't think himself capable of doing.

He eyed his deranged sister from his post as the dark contemplation diddled on his brain for some unknown reason.

Maybe he was his father's son after all, as much as he hated to remind himself of it. And the fact that it kept coming back to him in one depressing manner or another had really left an imprint now. Perhaps it was a sign by the spirits themselves, advocating to him in their mysterious, ethereal ways so that he can let go of the past and move on.

To release himself of this tribulation. To relieve himself from this taxing, unnecessary burden of his past which kept him from flourishing into the powerful Firelord his people needed.

Perhaps it was all a test, to challenge his resolve as a man. What was he willing to give up for his people?

What was he willing to sacrifice for the next generation after his? What was he willing to pass on?

The answer was one that he did not like, but that which he had to accept.

He moved closer to her and she was a little startled by the way he looked at her again. An unmistakable bearing hovering over her.

Azula didn't let many things escape her notice as often as people thought she did. Even in this damn place, she'd like to think she was cunning enough to see subtle things that many others would simply dismiss or take for granted. It was one of the great talents she possessed since she was a little girl, and she had used it to her advantage at a maximum when others underestimated her.

The way she danced around their minds was entertaining at first, before it had started to become routine and eventually boring. She had an uncanny skill for deceiving and tricking people.

In this regard, and as a consequence, the youngest heiress and ruined princess of the Fire Nation touted to herself and to others that she found fear in no one. In fact the complete opposite, people feared _her._

A dread, the horror they felt, oh yes she could practically smell it a block away whenever she even made her presence known. Her stature not only demanded respect because of her lineage, but because of what she had made herself to infamously be.

She knew how those malingering nurses trembled in horror when it was their turn to approach her cell for lunch. The sweat that dripped off their pious necks as the days passed by, and all it took was a well placed vile threat against their families to just a couple of them for the rumour to spread.

Even those pestering orderlies flinched when they were ordered to move her from one place to another, like imbecilic elephant-mandrills.

No there weren't many things that escaped her, and she knew that even after all this time here, she had remained remarkably inflexible.

But there were a few things that left her bowing her head in shame like a little lost girl on a cold night in the middle of an enormous city. There were things that suppressed her evil, unhinged heart into uncharacteristic obedience. So she was deeply startled when this phenomenon manifested.

As Zuko approached her, his disposition, his poise altered again to a one that petrified her in place and left her throat drier than the Si Wong Desert.

He reached into her exposed neck and gripped her with his burning palm and fingers as she tried to flinch away. His eyes blazed the marron crimson he had adopted when he lit the wall next to them.

Azula's eyes dilated in a breathless panic, as she stared into the eyes of her enraged Firelord.

Her own father.

A look that she had only enjoyed seeing him give Zuko when he had burned his face off so hideously.

"N-no…" Azula tried to escape but it was pointless. Her feet scrambled on the floor against the chain, desperate to scurry away from him.

But the man she saw before her kept his iron grip as he lifted his other hand, and raised it to her face, ready to strike her down.

A flash passed through to her head. She quivered in a hysterical fit and saw the red flame surrounding him devilishly, as she heard him speak in a sickeningly irritated manner.

One that she reserved only at the very end of a bottomless pit of her deepest, darkest nightmares.

"You disappoint me Azula, you have failed me and our nation one too many times, and you shall thus be punished…severely" his grip tightened.

Her mind shattered upon hearing this, and it hurt her more than the lucky gut punch that that repulsive tribal water wench landed on her.

"No! Father forgive me!" she choked out as her eyes watered and threatened to be submerged to the back of her skull from his clutching, seething palms.

If even possible, he looked even more resentful. Azula saw the antipathy that left her spasming in more horror.

"You should know by now that there are _no_ second chances for _failures_ in this new world of mine, and much less mercy for the weak"

"Please no! I tried my best, I-I swear!" she could barely speak through his torturous grasp.

"Your best was not good enough. I only need perfection and if I can't have it, I will dispose of the rest, thoroughly"

"I'm sorry father! I'm sorry! Please don't hurt me!" Azula could no longer stop the tears from cascading down her swelling cheeks. She was utterly terrified at what he could do to her. And she knew what he could do as she had seen it done many times before to many different incompetent servants as a child. What Zuko had undergone, was nothing short of a slap in the hand compared to what he was capable of.

The demon monster above her raised his burning arm to her higher as he readied his strike.

"Prepare for your punishment my young daughter, it will be _very_ painful."

"No! Father no! Help me! Someone help me!"

" _Help me!"_

 _The moment the young flame wielding youth had charged such towering monstrosity, with but the recklessness in his brave imaginings, and a fireball a size too big, was the moment he had forsaken his benevolent mother's constant warnings about eccentric creatures and delaying an intimate meeting with any of them._

 _Any amount of regret, however, could not be accommodated any longer. And the young Prince found himself unwilling in any case, as his sister shouted at him in desperation._

 _Perhaps the creature's movements had become less effective because of a basking radiant light crashing into its semi-translucent onyx lens. Given its biological nature, and its preferred burrows, any naturalist would understand. Or perhaps it could be attributed to its rather difficult, laborious delivery of dozens upon dozens of egg clutches much earlier in the week, leaving it weak. Whatever the reasoning, in the end, it had only succeeded in grazing the small boy with its crude fangs, even as he had landed what could be considered a more fatal blow._

 _Azula was startled to have awoken to her body being almost crushed by reptilian scaly muscles of the gargantuan eel-clam and she panicked. Her first instinct being to cry for help, when the realization hit her that it had not been a terrible dream that she had gotten dragged into the musky cavern before being knocked out by something dense and smelly._

 _Her frail mind almost shot down with further unhinged grief at her precarious situation until her watering eyes darted to the inevitable encounter just a few feet from her own restrained self. The noise giving way to her inner dread, and vexing her for just a brief instant._

 _Her big brother had pierced into a sizeable chunk of aquatic, tough flesh, and from her unmoving purgatory, the blood that ran down his arm would make it seem like it belonged to only the beast grazing him._

 _But it didn't._

" _Argh!"_

" _Zuko!"_

 _Well, his mother surely understood more about the perils which existed outside her loving arms._

 _The clearance from its teeth had not been as clean as it had been originally believed. But the scarlet that mixed together while their skins made contact did pool nicely and quite poetically on his shredded silk robes embracing his arm._

" _Let go of him you monster!"_

 _She herself took the opportunity to bite its slimy scales with the only weapon she had available. It was repulsive, but what else could she do?_

 _Said creature growled and set its one remaining translucent iris to the loud noise and pricking feeling coming from its tail. The protrusion becoming more apparent as it caught the awakened presence._

 _Of course, for the eldest monarch savouring the grim stage with the beast, a moment like this should have brought to memory some slick fantasy he would occasionally enjoy after having read one of uncle Iroh's sensational tales of his and cousin Lu-Ten's adventures in the far east._

 _Slaying enormous dragons and other beasts of the like with tremendous courage, all while bringing back souvenirs as proof of their dastardly deeds._

 _However, he had no idea if either of them ever felt like they were fighting for their lives even as they hanged to the last, small threads of it._

" _Eek!"_

 _And perhaps it was in this one moment that the young man himself realized that times of glory and honor were best saved for when such things could actually be achieved first._

 _His sister's squeaking turned to groans of pain whilst the beast's muscles worked her ribcage. Her mortality suddenly becoming quite clear to him._

 _She had tormented him to ends avails for countless days on, without failure. No doubt regaling in her time with her strange friends at his misery. Not a minute went by that he didn't wish she would drop on a puddle of mud after a particularly nasty deluge and ruin that perfect face and dress of hers at eyesight of their parents._

 _Not a moment passed that he hadn't desired to best her, at least once, during their weekly training regimes, and watch his father's approving smirk raise him at higher spirits and vindicate to him that he wasn't completely hopeless._

 _Sometimes he might have longed he was a single child, if only so he had no one else to compare himself and feel less ashamed, intimidated even at how much better he could be._

 _And yes, there were far, more complicated and profoundly buried thoughts which would emerge, albeit rarely, were he desired most of all that she would just go away forever. When his frustration could no longer take her crazy pranks, or timely put downs among important nobility._

 _Especially the ones that questioned his honor, and his loyalty._

 _As the swampy creature's tendons began to squeeze the life of his younger sibling, and her agony reached its peak, he had finally understood that there was probably no better chance to ever be rid of her for good._

 _He could try to unclasp himself from being buried on the beast's eye socket and make a run for the toucan puffin riddled shoreline before the last rays of sunlight drifted into the sea. Undoubtedly, where his loving mother would be waiting for him with a caring embrace. What had he to lose from this? It was nothing short of a gift from the spirits, who had finally answered to his plight. And he was just tempting fate by even entertaining the idea of coming here to help her._

 _It was all just a thought, a very disturbing, distracting one, but it was there nonetheless. The question was, should he act on it?_

" _H-he-hel-p…m-ee" was his only choked response once more. Well, besides the animal growling._

 _His preteen eyes came to life once more, and the decision had been made. And it was nothing short of burning the monstrous creature that resided deep within the island resort's heart, and tempted him with an offer exclusively for the weakest of hearted men._

 _And if the young boy knew anything about this world of war and pain, it was that his heart was not weak._

" _Z-zu-k-o-o…he-help m-me"_

* * *

As stated this is part of a two-shot. Please comment and leave your thoughts about the story, it helps knowing what you want or don't want plus helps me write faster. Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Also if enough support is shown, I will personally create fan art for the story title screen and if you guys are impressive enough, some of these line WILL be voiced acted (not by me so don't get excited in any case) yes, I'm not joking here, as much as I'm dying to. I'll find a way to provide links to this and all that jazz.

Anyway, thanks for reading!


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